Desperate to secure supply routes to Afghanistan, the United States has been spending at least six times more on military aid for the mostly authoritarian states of Central Asia than on efforts to promote political liberalisation and human rights in the region.

Are the United States and China heading toward an economic and military showdown or a peaceful convergence of interests? Two prominent China scholars, James Nolt and Bonnie Glaser, go head-to-head to answer the question.

Joint Vision 2020, a Pentagon planning document, concluded that Asia will replace Europe as the key focus of U.S. military strategy in the early 21st century and pointed to China as a potential adversary.